Worship In Dark Times

Today’s Reading: Job 1; Job 2; Acts 6; Acts 7

SCRIPTURE: Job 1:20-22

”At this, Job got up and tore his robe and shaved his head. Then he fell to the ground in worship and said:
       "Naked I came from my mother's womb,
       and naked I will depart.
       The LORD gave and the LORD has taken away;
       may the name of the LORD be praised."

In all this, Job did not sin by charging God with wrongdoing.”

OBSERVATION:

Job lost everything at the hands of evil and still praises God.  I think of the things I get upset with God about.  I Think of all the God talk that takes place in our country when crisis hits.  “Where were you God?”  “How could God let this happen?”  “Is this punishment from God?”  I grew up with the understanding that if life was good it was because I am good, but if things were going bad I was being punished.  My mindset was almost, “Life is good until God shows up.”  I believed that he only showed up to do an audit on our behavior and punish us.

I see Satan’s craftiness here.  His strategy is to wreck our lives and have us curse God for it.  It’s amazing that in the midst of crisis and tragedy we ignore the author of evil and point our finger at the maker of all things good.

I see Job who has lost everything and in the middle of his mourning he is in worship to God.  He didn’t lose his grounding in God - he kept a right perspective of who God is and how he work in his life.

APPLICATION:

Though my belief about God has changed, my human nature, or should I say sin nature, still beckons me to anger when bad things happen.  I know God is good, faithful, and loving.  I know that it has always been Satan’s plan to get us to curse God by wrecking our lives.  I will strive to worship God with a right heart and a right perspective in every situation.  God doesn’t change when my circumstances do.  He is not a commodity that increases in value with the principles of supply & demand.  He is God, He is good, and He is always worthy of my praise.

PRAYER:

Father, you are good and your mercies are never ending.  You are the giver of all good things.  You never leave us nor forsake us.  You see those in need, in pain, in crisis, with perspective that is biased with love.  You are the one who brings us thru hard times, comforts our hurts, and calms our storms.  You are forever good, forever faithful - you never change.  Help me not to weigh you on the scale of my circumstances.  Forgive me for ever trying to do so.  Help me to find your goodness in the midst of every situation, good or bad.  Help me to maintain right perspective and maintain a heart of worship.  In Jesus name - AMEN!